..We hypothesize that the ventral body wall defect resulting from Cd treatment in chick embryos is the result of changes in the somites perhaps following interruption of a signalling pathway originating in ectoderm...

Omphalocele induction in the chick embryo by administration of cadmium

..Ventral body wall (VBW) defects occur in 1:2000 live births. We examined the association of VBW defect with somite abnormality and lordosis in the chick using in vitro and in ovo methods...

Adherens junction breakdown in the periderm following cadmium administration in the chick embryo: distribution of cadherins and associated molecules

Jennifer ThompsonSchool of Medicine and Medical Science and Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Dublin, IrelandReprod Toxicol 25:39-46. 2008

..From 4h after Cd, affected embryos demonstrate varying degrees of cell junction breakdown and desquamation in the periderm. We examined the effect of Cd on tissue and cell distribution of cadherins and their intracellular associates...

..Furthermore, MDA levels 24 hours after treatment were identical in malformed and normal embryos exposed to Cd. Hence, we conclude that oxidative stress may not have a direct role in Cd teratogenesis...